DCNR appoints new director of the Bureau of State ParksDCNR Secretary Richard Allan has announced that he is appointing a 38-year veteran of the state park system to lead the Bureau of State Parks.

David L. Kemmerer, who has risen through the management ranks and has served as assistant bureau director for the past eight years, will oversee Pennsylvania’s system of 120 state parks and almost 300,000 acres.

"Dave Kemmerer brings to this position the experience, enthusiasm and energy needed to run a park system as large and complex as ours,” Allan said. Read more...

Secretary Allan joins in groundbreaking for D&L trail segment in Luzerne County
Whenever and wherever proponents of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Trail gather, discussion of the “big picture” is sure to come up. Read more...

DCNR helps celebrate groundbreaking for Port Richmond Trail in Philadelphia
As the Delaware River Greenway continues to progress through Philadelphia, linking city residents and visitors to the rebounding Delaware River, DCNR remains a key partner in a vision for a trail that one day will stretch from Maine to Florida. Read more...

New River of Revolutions Interpretive Center celebrates grand opening
The grand opening of the interactive River of Revolutions Interpretive Center early this week was hailed by DCNR Deputy Secretary John Giordano as the unveiling of “a gateway welcome center, encouraging tourism to grow and expand” along the Schuylkill River and throughout the Pottstown region. Read more...

DCNR environmental education video garners Emmy honors
A Wild Resource Conservation Program video was recently honored with an Emmy award by the regional chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Read more...

Grants awarded to preserve, promote Pocono area’s natural, cultural resources
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council has awarded 17 grants totaling $100,000 to communities and organizations working to protect and promote the cultural and natural assets in the six counties making up the Pocono Forest and Waters Conservation Landscape in Northeast Pennsylvania. Read more...

A working model railroad that shows what timber harvesting looked like in the Pine Creek Valley at the turn of the century;

A 180-gallon aquarium featuring our state fish, the brook trout, as well as other stream dwellers;

A map of the Pennsylvania Wilds that features many of the most popular destinations and the full range of recreational opportunities in the region;

An observation deck that interprets the green roof and native plants used for landscaping with viewing scopes as well as a log slide replica similar to those used to transport logs down the steep hillsides at the turn of the century; and

An exhibit entitled Conservation Heroes that features video vignettes of the major historical figures in Pennsylvania forest conservation.

“The center is one of a kind in the Bureau of Forestry and features a large exhibit space that overlooks the majestic Pine Creek Valley,” DCNR Secretary Richard Allan said. “The new exhibits tell the story of the valley, Pennsylvania's early logging era, and the management of state forest lands." For more information about the Tiadaghton State Forest, visit here.

For more information and applications, visit here. Application should be submitted by Friday, Oct. 26.

The Schuylkill Highlands grant program advances the regional landscape goals of the Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative. It is funded by both DCNR and the William Penn Foundation, and is jointly administered by the Natural Lands Trust and Schuylkill River Heritage Association.

Several plant conservation institutions have teamed up to initiate what is to be the first of biennial meetings bringing academic and amateur botanists together to share current research in the region.

Invited speakers will cover a variety of topics, including important recent field discoveries; early botany in North America; species interactions in a Pennsylvania forest; lichens of Pennsylvania; recovery of rare native plants after invasive species removal; the shortage of botanical capacity in academia and land management agencies.

Rothrock State Forest
This forest was named after Pa.'s first forestry commissioner. Read more...

Upcoming Events

Fall Foliage Walk at Cowans Gap State ParkOct. 27. Held 1-2 p.m. Meet at the Beach House to enjoy a stroll around the park while we view the beauty of the season! Crunchy leaves under foot and a kalidoscope of colors all around! For more information, call (717) 485-3948.